


it was a graceful love

by decaf and sleep (kohiii)



Category: Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21524278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kohiii/pseuds/decaf%20and%20sleep
Summary: To the rest of the world they were Kuran and Kiryuu, but in the quiet moments between them they were Kaname and Zero.
Relationships: Kiryuu Zero & Kuran Kaname, Kiryuu Zero/Kuran Kaname
Comments: 17
Kudos: 132





	it was a graceful love

Winter was the witness to their first meeting. 

Winter saw gentle smiles and quiet words, exchanged hesitantly when the adults were too busy minding their business (as they were prone to do) to pay any mind to the two children gazing curiously at each other. And so while the adults talked about things such as _treaties_ and _coexistence_ and _scheming factions_ , they took each other's hands and ran off into a world of their own. 

Winter watched them slipping out into the cold, watched as they huddled together for warmth under the garden gazebo and wisps of their breath unfurled around them while they stood watching the snowfall. Winter watched as a tentative friendship bloomed in between clasped hands and soft whispers, watched as Kuran Kaname and Kiryuu Zero silently made a vow to never betray each other. 

Winter would be the only one to remember this as their first meeting. History would remember hurtful words and a drawn knife, a young boy traumatized by grief hurtling towards another boy whose heart broke at the look in the other's eyes. 

\--

Spring saw forgiveness and reconciliation when the prefect and the Night Class president met under the pale plum blossoms. 

Spring saw two pained children (because that was what they were, just _children_ forced to bear the burden of a world they shouldn't have had to) sitting together on a bench, the distance between them a silent testimony to the strain in their relationship. Spring saw tense silences become tentative conversations, listened as _good evening, how was your day_ slowly became _you weren't here last week, I missed you._ Neither commented on how the distance between them shrank a little bit with every meeting, until one day they were sitting side by side the same way they did all those years ago. 

Spring watched them reaffirm their promise to each other under the flowering cherry trees, fingers hooked around each other and foreheads pressed together. Spring watched as they pulled away with soft smiles and shared a platter of sweets between them. Spring watched their meetings on the bench, watched as the pale pinks gave way to curtains of purple and white. 

History would never know about these moments. History would never witness Zero press a bright red tulip into Kaname's hands, nor would history ever see Kaname tuck a sprig of wisteria behind Zero's ear. 

To the rest of the world they were Kuran and Kiryuu, but in the quiet moments between them they were Kaname and Zero. 

\--

In the summer, they stole away to another world. 

Summer saw them called away to another part of the country, the hunter for his duties and the pureblood for his. Summer witnessed the moment their eyes met in the train station, saw as they followed the flow of the crowd and then sat down next to each other in the same compartment. Summer saw their fingers lightly tracing out a greeting in the shadow of the space between them. 

Summer watched as they finished their obligations and then took a detour. They took the long way back to the academy, because in the academy they were Kuran and Kiryuu and they had classes, duties, and social expectations. They took the long way back because that wasn't _home_ , because home was the warmth between their clasped hands and the precious seconds they spent in each other's presence. They took the long way back because they wanted to be Kaname and Zero for just a little longer. 

Summer watched them stop by a small seaside town, watched as Kaname tugged Zero onto sandy shores where the blue sea rushed in and beckoned them welcomingly. Summer watched as Zero took Kaname's hand and led him ashore into the town, where no one knew the weight behind their last names, where no one would judge the two of them for being simply together. Summer watched as they joined in the festivities with the townfolk. Summer watched their faces light up in the glow of the lantern they released into the sky together, along with all of their unuttered wishes. 

History would not remember the day they were able to live out the childhood that had been taken away so abruptly from them. History would lament the lost experiences of two children who were forced to grow up too quickly, not knowing that the two of them had already taken their fate into their own hands and created those childhood memories that should have been. 

\--

Autumn brought change, both the good and the bad. 

Autumn saw secrets come to light, the ancestor freeing each and every one of his secrets like letting go of all the birds he had trapped in the cage of his heart. Autumn saw the pain and hurt when the ex-human finally was told the truth, the despair and desolation of having been betrayed once again. 

Autumn watched their relationship fall apart as the red spider lilies bloomed madly around them, the bright red flowers of loss dancing and waving in the breeze, lighting up the path to their bench. Autumn watched as dead leaves fluttered down and landed on top of the abandoned bench. Autumn watched Kaname come back to the bench, carefully and meticulously clearing the debris before sitting down and staring wistfully into the distance. Autumn watched Kaname wait alone, always there, always sitting with the same painful look in his eyes and the same determined expression on his face. 

Autumn watched as Zero finally came back to the bench one rainy night, drenched in the downpour and his eyes raw. Autumn watched as Kaname, always waiting, always sitting there, stood up from his seat and held the umbrella over both their heads. Autumn could not hear the quiet exchange between the two, but autumn could see them come to an understanding as they exchanged tired smiles. And next week, when the osmanthus began to bloom and the spider lilies faded away, autumn could see the two of them walking together, discussing something quietly with shy smiles on their faces. 

History never knew that. History remembered Kuran restoring his sister's memory and Kiryuu's inability to forgive him for it. History would remember the spiteful acts and hateful words, marking the point when their rift supposedly grew into something irreparable. 

\--

Winter saw peace at long last. 

Winter saw them lead everyone into a new era of coexistence, fulfilling the dreams of the adults that had introduced them to each other so many years ago. Winter saw them sign a new treaty, their signatures side by side just like how they had stood side by side all these years, two steady pillars, unmoving. Winter saw them clasp hands together for the first time in front of hundreds of eyes, their hands slipping easily into each other like old friends greeting each other after a long absence. 

Winter saw happiness and celebration, as former enemies toasted each other and the merrymaking lasted long into the night. Winter watched them slip out of the party like they had so long ago, watched as they took each other's hands and stood quietly in the shadow of the building in silence as sounds of carolers drifted down the wind to them. 

Winter was their only witness when Zero turned and faced his dear friend with determination blazing in his eyes and quietly asked _I know there's no mistletoe, but is it alright if I kiss you_ and Kaname simply stepped forward and captured the other's lips in reply. Winter watched the soft joy between the two lovers, their fingers twined around each other in a promise. 

History would remember the treaty and laud the two for their political accomplishments. History would remember the two becoming allies, working together like a well-oiled machine to make sure that the Hunter Association and Vampire Senate would be capable of upholding the hard-won peace. 

\--

Springtime saw them traveling again.

Officially, they were traveling together as a gesture of goodwill, their joint appearance meant to reassure the others of the newly established peace. Unofficially, they were just two people who wanted to spend time together, not as representatives of their respective races nor as symbols of the new era. 

Spring saw them taking less traveled routes, wandering through unmarked woodland trails and spending nights gazing at star-filled skies under the forest canopy. Spring saw them exploring unmapped territories, visiting different small towns and acquainting themselves with everything the world had to offer them. Spring saw them shed Kuran and Kiryuu to become Kaname and Zero again, saw them walk hand in hand along roads where the only reactions they received were indulgent smiles and light chuckles. 

Spring watched as they walked through a bustling night market together. Spring watched as Zero became mesmerized by the reflection of the vibrant colors in Kaname's eyes when they sat down to scoop goldfish together. Spring watched as Kaname smiled fondly at Zero as they were lit up in the bright colors of the fireworks blossoming in the night sky above them. Spring watched as they finally fulfilled their obligations and then came to a decision on a grassy hilltop.

Spring was the season when the two of them quietly slipped away, fading out of history.

\--

In the summer, two foreigners arrived in a village. 

Summer watched as the two re-introduced themselves as Kaname and Zero. Summer watched as their neighbors grew curious at the lack of a surname, but the two would simply respond, _just Kaname and Zero_ , and the villagers would smile and hum in reply, because they understood that sometimes people wanted to put behind things behind them and there was no need to bring up painful memories. 

Summer watched them re-learn what it meant to live everyday, unremarkable lives. Summer watched Kaname bring home a wounded rabbit, and Zero simply smiled helplessly at the two from the front porch before stepping forward and reaching out a hand to the two of them in invitation. Summer watched as Zero came across an abandoned and limping horse on his morning walk, and then it was Kaname's turn to shake his head fondly even as he welcomed the new addition to their growing family.

Summer watched as they decided to dedicate their lives to healing others and put their past of violence and strife behind them. Summer watched as they opened their homes to those in need -- stray cats, wounded birds, abandoned dogs, old goats, and even young children. Summer watched them exchange vows once more, slipping bands of gold onto each other's fingers in a promise to always stay true as their family and all the village folk cheered around them. Summer watched that night as they exchanged blood, tying their lives together so neither of them would ever be left behind again.

Summer watched them rebuild their lives, together this time, and summer watched Kaname and Zero find their happiness at last.

\--

Autumn saw them off. 

Autumn saw them outlive their new family. Autumn saw as their first children left them, but there was always someone in need of a loving home and the not-so-little family continued to grow. 

Autumn watched as they eventually grew older and older, and weaker. Autumn watched as their hair grew grey and their faces took on wrinkles, but they were still joyful and their gentle smiles were plenty. Autumn watched them lean against each other one last time on their front porch, and autumn watched as their breaths slowed and their clasped hands grew limp. 

Autumn watched their children bury them, and then there was a beautiful ceremony with many tears but also smiles as they recalled how these two quietly extraordinary men came into their lives and changed it for the better. Autumn watched as generations passed, and the children of the children they took into their home would stop by their grave and place all kinds of flowers, until it looked like there was a flower field blooming where they were laid to eternal rest. 

History wouldn't remember this. History wouldn't remember the quiet moments between the two, the quiet love that blossomed. 

But that was alright. They didn't need a remarkably fantastic love story, because for them their love was already remarkable enough. 

**Author's Note:**

> there's a superstition that red spider lilies bloom along the paths of people you'll never see again
> 
> i promise i'll update a tough act to follow sometime next week ; w ; b


End file.
